“What d’you know, you’re a girl!” Gendered experiences of sport coach education

The recent increase in female participation in sport has not been matched by the involvement of women in decision-making and coaching roles. The present study used Bourdieu’s concept of habitus to examine experiences of male and female sport coaching students regarding the use of (association) football as a context for assessment. Results demonstrated that female students were less likely to have had experience playing or coaching football and many were uncomfortable with football as a medium for learning. Paradoxically, however, having greater informal knowledge (based on experiential learning) was perceived as a barrier to learning for some male students.